Affordability: Retina MacBook Pro vs. Air

The new Retina MacBook Pro is not just a pretty face and thanks to a thinner form factor it’s a real alternative to the MacBook Air, although could this new powerhouse tempt PC laptop users or are we likely to see clones in the coming months?

Apple’s new MacBook Pro with Retina features some of the latest hardware, which includes new Intel Core i7 quad-core processors with Turbo Boost, so you can reach speeds of 3.7GHz. If you want something truly special then you can add up to 16GB of 1600MHz memory, although all of this new technology comes at a cost and it is not cheap.

While the MacBook Air didn’t receive a new Retina display it did get a speed boost, and the specs jumped up a notch with faster flash storage, improved graphics, and Intel’s latest processors. You can enjoy USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt on the refreshed MacBook Air, and the hard drive will feel faster thanks to being twice as fast. If you think SSDs are small then you will welcome the new 512GB option, although this is still small compared to standard hard drive, but you can counter this with a portable drive and still benefit from a super fast MacBook Air.

When it comes to the differences between the new Retina MacBook Pro and the refreshed MacBook Air, it might come down to affordability more than anything else. It’s a no-brainer to want the Retina display after you understand how much better it is, you can see a video below this article that explains it in detail, and while we expect future MacBook Air’s to include the Retina display it seems there’s a premium price to pay at this time.

The refreshed MacBook Air has a price starting from $1,199 for the 13-inch model; although the same sized Retina MacBook Pro will set you back $1,799. These are just the starting prices and adding any upgrades will quickly increase the price.

If you can afford it we recommended the Retina MacBook Pro purely thanks to the massive difference in screen clarity, which is the thing you will look at all day. See our video review roundup to understand more about the new MacBook Pro and the Retina display.